HYATTSVILLE, Md. -- A baby girl was found inside a bag and died a short time later. Now police are searching for the newborn's parents.
The bag containing the baby was found at about noon Sunday by workers clearing an overgrown field near a church near the 6300 block of New Hampshire Avenue near Hyattsville.
Emergency workers were called to the scene and performed CPR, but the girl died about an hour later at a local hospital.
The infant appeared to have been alive for about seven hours before dying, police said.
Detectives passed out fliers in English and Spanish at the nearby apartments.
People gather in the field to drink and use drugs, said Robert Mena, who works nearby.
An autopsy is being conducted to determine why the baby girl died.
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It's not clear whether the mother would be charged if police find her.
Maryland's Safe Haven Act, passed in 2002, provides immunity for any person who leaves an unharmed newborn, 3-days-old or younger, with a responsible adult, at a hospital or at a police department. "Unharmed" means the infant has not been abused nor neglected since the time of birth.
